DES MOINES, Iowa -- A lottery winner in Iowa may have to return his $100,000 prize, and he's also facing criminal charges. Officials say he was too young to buy a ticket -- and that he lied about his age.
"There wasn't anything wrong on the face of it, from that situation, so long as the facts back up what occurred. In this case, in fact, the facts didn't back up the story that we were presented with -- so penalties would apply," Mary Neubauer, Iowa Lottery spokeswoman said.
In late July, Jobie Boals-Watters claimed his prize check. He indicated a co-worker had purchased the winning lottery ticket for him.
"We got a tip that, in fact, people didn't think that was the case, and determined through our investigation that he purchased the ticket -- which made it an illegal purchase," Neubauer said.
While his picture is still on the Iowa Lottery's website, Boals-Watters' money might not be his for much longer. He is facing misdemeanor charges for underage gambling.
You have to be 21 years old to buy a lottery ticket in Iowa.
"I think he might look like he's older than 21, but for retail locations if they ever have a question like that, they do need to ask for ID," Neubauer said.
WOI-DT spoke with the owner of Super Quick, CJ Singh, where the winning ticket was purchased. He said he's had the shop for 16 years, and recognized Boals-Watters, who usually comes in every day.
Singh indicated that when he bought that winning ticket, Boals-Watters came in with another woman, whom Singh thought was Boals-Watters' mother.
Singh says Boals-Watters showed a fake ID.
"It's a violation of Iowa's criminal statute," Neubauer said.
Lottery officials are now taking steps so that Singh cannot sell the lottery tickets in question for a week.
"The law is in place for a reason. We need to make sure that the law is enforced. And the good news is that this doesn't happen very often," Neubauer said.
Singh tells WOI-DT he'll appeal the final decision. He says the money that comes from lottery tickets is a good source of money for his business.